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Case study listing

'112' case studies listed
As a shop worker, I know unions put more money in people's pockets
The cost of living comes up in almost every conversation. Low pay. Reduced hours. The constant stress of trying to stretch wages to cover rent, food and bills. I’m honest with people - being in a union puts more money in your pocket.
Supermarket worker and USDAW rep Finnola Tsagkaraki was part of a TUC campaign for the Employment Rights Bill outside the House of Commons on the 2nd of September 2025 in London, United Kingdom
The only way we get fair pay, stability and dignity is together
My name’s Ayvianna, and I’m an actor. I joined Equity back in 2010, almost by accident. My local branch was running a workshop where you could meet casting directors from the National Theatre and I thought why not?
Rear view of female stage performers performing on stage at amateur theatre
Decarbonising high temperature ceramics production through electrification
Heat-related processes in energy-intensive industries are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and electrifying these processes - particularly at high temperatures - offers potential to reduce emissions. This is particularly valuable for the ceramics sector, where the vast majority emissions are heat related.
ceramics
Cement workers fight for skills development and relocation to secure jobs
How cement workers are fighting for environmental health and workforce upskilling in the decarbonisation of their industry.
cement truck zimbabwe
How informal brickmakers are working to improve conditions and build collective power
Argentina’s brick-making industry provides livelihoods for an estimated 75,000 families. Although formal factories exist, around 90% of workers in the industry operate in the informal (‘popular’) economy. The sector is dominated by marginalised groups, particularly women and migrants, and characterised by precarious, family-based self-employment with no contracts, long hours, and poor health and safety standards, with limited protections.
argentina
Prospect helps energy workers transfer skills
When the Cottam Power Station in Nottinghamshire was lined up for closure, workers at the plant were worried about the future, but their union was keen to explore ways to transfer across workers to other parts of the energy sector - retaining these workers and their skills.
Automotive site transitions to Europe's first circular economy factory
French multinational automotive manufacturer Renault was founded in 1899 and has played a key role in shaping the global automotive industry. Their Flins production site, located in Yveline near Paris, opened in 1952 and has since more produced more than 18 million vehicles – including Renault’s first mass-produced electric vehicle model.
flins
Jeepney drivers leading the charge for a fair transport system future
With a mandated reduction in jeepneys, fast-approaching consolidation deadlines, and high costs to purchase eco-friendly Euro 4, 5 and 6 Jeepneys, workers were at huge risk of losing their livelihoods. NCTU realized it needed to act fast to ensure that the transition fair and inclusive.
jeepney
Workers’ cooperative fights to futureproof glass manufacturing
How glass workers established a workers’ cooperative to save livelihoods and secure local manufacturing
Hippopx
Workers champion carbon capture in the cement industry
How Brevik workers helped secure the first industrial-scale CCS facility in cement and future livelihoods.
Success factors & lessons Worker engagement from the start: Workers’ unique expertise and knowledge were central from start, with close cooperation between trade unions, management and key experts. This enabled new technology to be integrated safely and quickly and built trust and ownership across the workforce. Proactive and strong union engagement: The union and its chief shop steward were proactively involved throughout and championed the project, advocating for government investment and negotiating fo
Electric vehicle transition at Vauxhall Ellesmere Port, UK
How automotive workers protected their hard-won rights during the transition to electric vehicles.
VAUXHALL
Taiwanese Days
Just before Christmas, the TUC issued a call to the trade unions organising at Port Talbot for a representative to attend the Net-Zero Emission and Just Transition conference, organised by Ray Cheng and the Taiwanese Trade Unions. Tom Hoyles from GMB kindly volunteered. Here's Tom's perspective.
Conference
Steel in Transition: The End of an Era and the Fight for the Future
The closure of Port Talbot’s blast furnaces marks the end of an era for UK steelmaking and the beginning of a fierce fight for its future. With Scunthorpe offering a glimmer of hope, the question is no longer just about technology, but justice: how do we ensure a transition that puts workers, communities, and good jobs at its heart? As the UK charts its industrial future, one thing is clear, steel still matters.
Steel workers
GKN workers in Florence fight to take over ownership of their factory and win a worker-led transition
GKN is unique in the way its workers have organised collectively. Since 2008, GKN workers have been organised under an autonomous factory-wide collective, the ‘Collettivo di Fabbrica’, that operates independently but closely alongside official union recognition (with the metalworking union FIOM-CGIL).
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German steelworkers win a green steel transition
How steelworkers in Lower Saxony have played an integral role in the transition to next generation steelmaking in Germany, securing their jobs into the future.
Lower Saxony
Ratcliffe Power: a fair transition for workers at the last coal plant in Britain
How unionised workers at Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power collaborated with their employer to successfully redeploy the workforce.
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Ex-auto workers win job deal at electric vehicle factory in Ohio
New electric vehicle battery manufacturing site in former automotive industrial town takes on workers from closing United Auto.
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Shoulder to Shoulder: Climate Activists and Steelworkers Unite
Amy Cameron, Programme Director at Greenpeace, and Jason Wyatt, an electrical engineer with Tata and a Unite trade union rep, shared their views on why climate groups support workers from carbon-heavy industries.
banner
"I'm a supermarket worker and I was abused by a shoplifter"
Hear from a USDAW rep about her experience of abuse, and how this motivated her to help other workers through the union.
Finnola
A voice at the table: RMT train conductor's fight for fair treatment
A Veteran in the railway industry, Steve, who has been a RMT regional organiser for the past 18 months, has a rich history and high level of experience in the sector.
train station london
FBU’s campaign for fair maternity leave pay
The Fire Brigades Union are driving a campaign to ensure all women fire fighters across the country have access to the same level of dignified maternity pay when having a child.
fbu Leoni Munslow
UCU members in Teesside win pay increase
In December 2022, the staff at five colleges in Cleveland, Redcar and Stockton-on-Tees, part of the Education Training Collective (ETC) in Teesside, initiated a campaign for fair pay.
UCU
RMT members fight for fair pay at Doppelmayr Cable Car
Ella has been working at Doppelmayr Cable Car as a Technical Operator for the last five years – she is the rep at a small and tight knit workplace.
rmt
Big win for ASLEF after two-year pay dispute
In September, the ASLEF train drivers voted overwhelmingly to accept the pay deal offered to them by the new Labour government - bringing to an end one of the longest running disputes on Britain's railways in recent history.
aslef
“I don’t know how much I’m earning next week"
Fraser is a hospitality worker from the East Midlands. He has worked five different hospitality jobs, all on zero-hours contracts.
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"I try to be as invisible as possible"
Unite member Adam*, is a truck driver from the west of Scotland in his 40s. He isn't out as a trans man at work.
A great pay win for workers at National Museums Liverpool
“It was a real win for us and a good example of what we can achieve through solidarity.”
PCS strike
NUJ achieves historic union recognition at Press Association
Last month the NUJ won a historic union recognition agreement at the Press Association (PA). PA is the national news agency for the UK and Ireland and is a leading multi-media content provider across web, mobile, broadcast and print.
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We need a government to work with teachers, not against them
Headteacher Angi Gibson, reflects on the impact of funding cuts and increasing demands on schools, the resilience of educators, and the urgent need for governmental support and reform to ensure the future of our children’s education.
“Everything had gone up except our wages. We felt unappreciated”
After working through the pandemic, a group of outsourced canteen workers working at Drax power station felt the cost-of-living crisis starting to bite.
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